


sun & moon

by MochiGang



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Character Death, Huang Bros, M/M, Minor Character Death, Time Skips, Time Travel, Vague Storytelling, also there's cursing, confusing to read i'm sorry, initially started out so differently, it was about myths at first then it turned into this whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 12:11:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17642555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MochiGang/pseuds/MochiGang
Summary: Jaemin and Renjun were never destined to be with each other, being that they were born centuries apart. And yet...Jaemin finds a way to break time and space, only to get under Renjun's skin.But again, they were never destined to be with each other.





	sun & moon

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first entry for AllRenzine and I hope that my prompter is satisfied with this! This started totally in the opposite direction and much more lighter but I ended up writing too much and with no end in mind for that plot so I ended up changing it for this one. I hope you'll all enjoy this oneshot! (Prompt 41 - "Affections touching across time - time travel, star crossed lovers, separated by time.)

There were days when the wind was so still, when the scattered petals in the school courtyard barely breathed in their resting spots, scarcely lifting their edges before falling back flatly onto the cement in contempt. There was no sudden gust of wind to bother them, no student suddenly rushing out and trampling them. They were simply…unbothered. Those were the days that Jaemin missed the most.

Jaemin remembered the feeling of skipping class and finding a shaded area in the courtyard where he could melt into the perfect state of _unbotheredness_. Although it almost always ended in one of the faculty finding him and scolding him, Jaemin still missed those days. It certainly beat having to mop up the floors of Neo Technology. But then again, a lot of things in his adolescence was better than his stagnant adulthood.

_What even is that stain?_

Jaemin shuddered and quickly went over the eerie red stain on the marbled floors with fervor. He didn’t want to be reminded of the illicit experiments that underwent within the same building he worked at, it often caused him to stay awake at night, dealing with the guilt for his chosen ignorance. Jaemin had learned on his very first day that curiosity from a mere janitor like himself would get him either mauled or even worse, fired—and he needed his paycheck in order to pay for his half of the rent (as well as pay for his weekly sessions in the PC cafe).

If anyone had told a younger Jaemin that he’d be working practically the entire day for one of the largest (albeit sketchiest), leading technology company in Korea, he’d probably have shrugged it off as something inevitable. Even a prepubescent Jaemin knew back then that he had the adept skills to get a job at highly competitive places such as Neo Tech (although he’d never imagined that job being an underpaid and thoroughly embarrassed janitor). But he supposed that his daily workout called _mopping_ , was more inevitable with how often he skipped classes in his youth.

Jaemin scoffed to himself. He certainly made his bed in his schooling days, and he was fine with lying down on it. At least he still had a bed, he’d known far too many ambitious schoolmates churned out by their own ambitions.

_“Na Jaemin. Access Level Denied."_

“Huh?” Jaemin’s eyebrows jerked up in response to the break in his monotonous schedule.

 _Why is this floor locked all of a sudden? Nobody told_ —

A piercing sound interrupted Jaemin’s thought, a sound so sharp that the young man felt as if the sound was physically drilling into his brain through his ear holes.

If there was a day that was the complete antithesis to those cherished unbothered days, _this_ was certainly it.

* * *

 

Jaemin groaned out as he slowly his regained consciousness. The first thing that processed through his muddled thoughts was the feeling akin to frostbite settling in his right cheek, a consequence of having his face pressed against the floor for what he assumed was more than a few hours. Despite the lack of feeling in his limbs, Jaemin struggled to move and eventually rolled onto his back as shadows were slowly chased away by his consciousness.

 _“Shit,"_ Jaemin whispered to himself—he didn’t think that he had enough air in him to be any louder.

By some miracle, or testament of adrenaline rush, Jaemin hauled himself up onto his feet, swaying for a few seconds before finally gaining ahold of his balance. That’s when he gained awareness of everything around him:

    1. He was definitely not in Neo Tech. Not even in any sort of room resembling an infirmary.
    2. He wasn’t in his apartment either.
    3. Sound? Pending. His ear was still ringing from the shrillness of that sound.
    4. Oh damn. There’s a cute boy trying to talk to him. Emphasis on _trying_ (refer back to #3).
    5. __IS THAT THE MILKY WAY OUT THE CUTE BOY’S WINDOW?!?__



 

Suffice to say, Jaemin fainted again.

 

**Days Since Accident: 0**

* * *

When Jaemin came about this time, he was much more prepared to see _whatever the fuck_ he had seen the first time. Or at least that’s what he kept trying to convince himself of, as he pretended to sleep in what he assumed was the boy’s bed. He’d been awake for what felt like more than two hours and yet he had adamantly kept up the act of sleeping, when in truth he was eavesdropping on his surroundings after realizing that he could hear again— _people are more honest when they think you’re not listening,’_ his grandpa had once advised.

What his grandpa had not warned him of was that eavesdropping also required patience, something that an anxious Jaemin lacked. But so far the boy who he knew was still in the room with him because of the slight shuffling sounds, had not given any indication as to knowing that Jaemin was awake. That or the boy really didn’t care whether he was awake or not.

There was a slight _swooshing_ sound, something that Jaemin thought sounded a lot like those vacuum sealed doors in some of the laboratories he passed at work, that piqued his interest after listening far too long at what he could only describe as some odd _Y/N as a Hostage_ ASMR video.

“Little Huang. Give me a report.”

Jaemin swallowed at the militaristic tone of the unknown figure, feeling even more vulnerable in his stiff position on the bed.

A much less stern voice answered back in a unique blend of soft tones wrapped in a sharp, professional tone, “He’s been unresponsive for the most part. Earlier I scanned him for any devices and he doesn’t seem to have anything.”

Jaemin’s hopes of everything being just an odd lucid dream ebbed away the longer the two figures conversed, none of his lucid dreams had ever featured such distinct dialogue and here the two were, not missing a beat with discussing his fate with voices full of clarity and undeniable vividness.

“Wake the boy up and have him report to your brother before curfew. Find out how this _little civilian_ has bypassed all of our security.”

A few tense moments of silence passed before Jaemin heard the man exit the room. He heard the other boy let out a slight exhale as well.

Jaemin was amazed. He was absolutely amazed that with his _luck_ , he was stuck in some sort of war (in space?) film when originally he had planned on retiring back to his apartment and eating out of whatever cereal box his roomate had left on the table.

“You heard him. Get up.”

Jaemin opened his eyes, startled at the fact that he was being addressed when all this time he had assumed the boy had bought his act, when in reality it was Jaemin who bought the boy’s.

The boy, the _really cute_ boy, stared down at him with furrowed eyebrows. Jaemin must’ve really hit his head so hard sometime earlier, because all he could process as the stranger loomed over him was how cute he was. The boy looked soft with his fluffy parted hair and small nose, wearing a cardigan all too big on him. Jaemin was soft. He was entirely too soft for a boy who could easily say something and get Jaemin killed. _Cute._

The boy’s cheeks reddened and Jaemin realized it was because he had voiced his thought aloud, catching the boy off guard. Jaemin was curious about his reaction (especially since it wasn’t outright rejection) but his first priority happened to be finding out what the hell happened to him at Neo Tech, the next being to flirt with the boy.

The boy’s bed had been like a cradling cloud and Jaemin mourned having to leave it behind to follow the boy, especially when all throughout his life he’s never known the privilege of sleeping on anything fluffier than _bricks_ . But Jaemin knew that in order to get answers, he’d have to follow the shorter boy who was adamant on not talking to him, probably because he wanted _his_ questions answered first.

The two must have been using some sort of secret passageways as Jaemin hadn’t seen a single soul other than the boy himself. _Boy..._

“Okay, this quiet thing is understandable and all but I have to be honest with you…I’ve been calling you _boy_ in my mind all this time and it’s getting annoying,” Jaemin casually said after they turned the hundredth corner in the convoluted maze. Jaemin knew that pushing the boy was probably stupid of him. He supposed that the same self-preservation rules from working at Neo Tech should be applied to his current situation, but for some probably stupid reason, he felt more confident in being less passive around the boy.

“Renjun. My name’s Renjun,” the boy quietly muttered, much to Jaemin’s surprise.

_Renjun. Little Huang. Huang Renjun? Shit...even his name is cute._

Jaemin groaned at his thoughts. Now really wasn’t the time to find more endearing things about his little tour guide.

“Oh. Mine’s Jaemin. Na Jaemin. I guess you’ve been calling me boy all this time too,” Jaemin laughed awkwardly after, trying to make light of the whole silent two-man parade.

They stopped in front of a different colored wall panel and Renjun had sideyed Jaemin with a sense of distrust before lifting his wrist up and pressing it against the cool panel. And even with all the exposure to the latest tech in the modern world that Neo Tech boasted in their building, Jaemin could not figure out how the wall practically melted away at the touch of Renjun’s wrist. It was something that seemed plausible to Jaemin’s mind, but something that had yet been accomplished so _seamlessly,_ if he could describe it with a word.

The room they entered was much less personalized than Renjun’s room. It was all too white and reminded Jaemin too much of a hospital, but the strange chair  in the middle looked nothing like the hospital chairs he’d seen in his life.

A tall man rounded around a floating panel from behind the chair— _Floating panel? Am I captured by Neo Tech’s enemies or something?_ —and met the two with a kind smile.

When Jaemin pictured the typical torturers or _‘questioners’_ who were employed by some variant of mobsters or international intelligence agency to drill out answers from their targets…he certainly didn’t imagine a gentle faced, smiling man who looked only a couple years older than himself.

“Renjun. A bit late for our lunch aren’t you?” The man, _Renjun’s older brother,_ watched as Jaemin was pulled roughly into the room and dragged (with much effort) towards the chair.

“Guessing this isn’t a friend then?”

Jaemin plopped down onto the _not-cloud_ chair and braced himself as metal straps materialized seemingly out of nowhere to adjust around his limbs.

“No, we’re not friends.”

At that Renjun sent Jaemin a look caught between perturbed and frustration.

“I was asleep and then suddenly I heard a crash in my room and I found him lying on my floor.”

Jaemin raised his eyebrows at Renjun’s description of how he ended up in the boy’s room. Now he was definitely confused.

“And how come I’m just hearing this now?” The man’s voice had gotten sharper, his smiling eyes filling with concern over his own brother’s safety. Jaemin could see the obvious protective aura the older Huang projected towards Renjun, much to the younger boy’s annoyance.

“It’s not like I was in any danger. He doesn’t even have anything on him and he passed out the first time,” Renjun defended himself. Jaemin deflated at how pathetic he must’ve looked like, but could anyone really blame him?

“OKAY I’M DONE BEING QUIET!” Jaemin interrupted the two brother’s conversation with his loud voice. Jaemin had enough of being confused as fuck and he thought that the two were too slow at getting _their_ answers so might as well get some for himself.

_Screw self-preservation. I might end up dying of anxiety and confusion at this point._

“Where am I? I swear I saw the Milky Way out his window but wait that’s not right...am I dead? Are you going to kill me? Cause I’ll have you know that I’ve already planned my death and this is _not_ how I wanted it to be. Also what happened at Neo Tech? Most importantly...who do I sue so that I don’t have to work there anymore?”

Renjun and his brother certainly had not expected him to rattle off his own questions in a pitch gradually getting shriller with each syllable.

“Did he fall from the ceiling and hit his head on your floor?” Renjun’s brother questioned amusedly before making his way around Jaemin, disappearing from his view.

Jaemin couldn’t even turn his neck to look at what the man was doing and he was doing _something_ by the sounds of the harsh tapping against the floating panel. Renjun crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his other foot, his eyes trained on something behind Jaemin.

“Did he tell you his name?”

“Na Jaemin.”

“Please don’t talk as if I’m not here.”

“ _Well_ , Mr. Na Jaemin. My name is Dr. Huang Hendery and I’m this ship’s Counselor. This is your first session with us so I’m sure that you’re bound to feel more than comfort in about thirty seconds. But I promise that it will be quick.” Renjun’s brother, Hendery, certainly had one of those naturally serene, almost joyful, voices that always sounded eerie whenever the subject was of a serious matter.

There was a tingling sensation that made its way through Jaemin’s body, erupting from where the straps had their snug hold on him. He was helpless to the feeling; the feeling of snakes slithering up his body with their cold scales shifting beneath his skin. The tingling sensation quickly turned uncomfortable and Jaemin could only shut his eyes tightly and concentrate on his breathing as the snakes turned into subdued electric eels.

But as quickly as the pain started, it quickly vanished, leaving only the tingling sensation it started with, as well as the faint taste of metal in his mouth. He lifted his tired eyes and met Renjun’s. Renjun dropped his eyes. Jaemin’s body simultaneously dropped back down onto the chair, as if he had been suspended by invisible marionette strings all this time.

“That can’t be right...this shouldn’t be…I’m running the scan again.”

Before Jaemin could voice out his protest, he felt his body seize in the sudden eruption of electric eels unearthing whatever pain from his body as they could. He must’ve screamed, or reacted in a way that had Renjun scrambling towards him.

“Hendery stop! He’s bleeding!”

Again, the pain evaporated in an instant, but his body still remembered the pain and twitched from it. This was somehow worse than the piercing sound that caused Jaemin to faint back at Neo Tech.

“Renjun this can’t be right.”

Jaemin was faintly aware of the warmth of Renjun hand leaving his arm, the younger Huang making his way over to his baffled brother.

“Na Jaemin. Born the thirteenth of August…oh. That’s…”

Jaemin couldn’t tell if Renjun had trailed off himself or it was just him losing consciousness, but there was something dire in Renjun’s tone that terrified him.

 

**Days Since Accident: 152,205**

* * *

From the eldest Huang’s careful explanation to him once he regained consciousness for the billionth time this week, Jaemin had found out that he was most definitely not in Neo Tech HQ anymore nor was he even in South Korea, let alone the _same galaxy_ . In fact, they were on the _Origin,_ a ship that orbited the outer bands of the Milky Way, deployed to help some sort of faction in a space war that Jaemin couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around. That and the fact that they had no idea as to how a Na Jaemin born in the year 2000 was able to rip apart space and time when even _they_ didn’t have that type of technology yet.

“So what now?” Renjun had quietly asked Hendery, as Jaemin pretended to be absorbed with the fancy projecting watch Hendery had promptly handed him (to monitor him but as well as providing him answers of his own).

“From what the database says, we know that he’s bound to return...at some point.”

“And I'm stuck babysitting until then. Stellar,” Renjun huffed out, definitely unsatisfied with their situation, the _their_ part cemented by how Jaemin would be sharing his room until he’s allowed one of his own. Although Hendery had warned them both how they would most likely share the room for more than a few months. Jaemin felt bad for him but to be honest, he felt more badly about his own situation considering the fact that he was quite literally yeeted by something across space and time for absolutely no reason. Still, Jaemin was sympathetic towards him considering the only pro to the whole thing was Renjun’s cute pouting face greeting him in the mornings, which really only benefitted Jaemin himself.

He didn't know how long he would be stuck onboard the _Origin_ hurtling at whiplash speeds around the _Milky Way for fucks sake,_ but something deep down in his mind knew that  Renjun was just like those days with the schoolyard petals.

* * *

First impressions always went a long way according to Jaemin’s past experience. He’d like to think that he had good sense in judging whether a person would be important to Jaemin’s life or not (most often they weren’t) and Renjun had not been spared from Jaemin’s ingrained seventh sense.

Jaemin’s first impression towards his same-aged roommate had been that Renjun was as cute as all boys went and living in the same room as the often exasperated boy hadn’t changed that fact (Jaemin was sure that Renjun’s cuteness fell under fact rather than opinion), but rather emphasized and built upon that foundation.

The millenial found the boy’s presence quite soothing, calming Jaemin’s nerves and probably saving him from panic attacks; Renjun seemed almost like his own personal inhaler. And the best parts of his little _out-of-the-world_ roommate were so _different_ from that of his roommate back on Earth (and _way_ back in time) that Jaemin couldn’t help but treat Renjun differently as well.

“You shouldn’t work yourself too hard.” Jaemin chided Renjun who was occupied with learning some sort of dance. Jaemin wasn’t going to lie, Renjun was a beautiful dancer with moves that flowed so smoothly it was as if he was the human embodiment of Grace. But he didn’t want to see his roommate pass out so suddenly from the exhaustion he was dedicating himself to.

“I have to practice for tonight. It’s the Welcoming Showcase.” Renjun huffed out as he landed on the balls of his feet after a delicate pounce.

_Ah that’s why._

His now daily trips to the canteen to get his meals, which was a whole experience in of itself, had brought him news of an event coming up which many of the younger passengers were obsessing over, which Jaemin supposes had allowed him to slip under the radar and get his meals without any major notice. He still didn’t know the exact details of the Welcoming Showcase but he knew the baseline details: _Origin_ was throwing a festival to welcome back their troops—or at least what was left of it.

Renjun was performing in the showcase part of the festival which meant that he was waiting for someone to return from the war.

Jaemin shivered. The closest he had ever been to anything of that scale of worry was through the online campaigns he and his old highschool friends shouted over one another for, which often resulted in them getting kicked out from the PC cafe. But those desperate shouts were a far cry from the look of desperation swirling in Renjun’s eyes. The serious look that glazed over Jaemin’s eyes when he played as the ace in his team was nothing compared to the set, grim line that Renjun’s lips cemented into.

Although _technically_ the boys were of the same age, there was no denying how that one room contained two boys who had lead completely different lives up to the point of their meeting, and whose lives perhaps should have never overlapped. And yet here they were, Jaemin ready to catch Renjun as if the boy would keel over any time soon; two boys born in different centuries, different galaxies, and into different lifestyles and yet somehow destined to annoy each other until one of them fell asleep (often the already exhausted Renjun).

Jaemin really felt like the Fates were trying to tell him _something_. Something that Jaemin couldn’t quite hear yet. So instead he busied himself with listening to the soft footfalls of the dancing star in front of him.

_Dancing Star, that suits him._

“ _Renjun_ , you should rest and save your energy for the actual showcase.” Jaemin uttered worriedly, a tinge of awe in his lazy smile as the aforementioned boy halted in his pirouette. A few beats of charged silence passed between the two boys, as if they were holding an internal debate with each other’s caricature version that resided in their heads.

Renjun sighed in acquiescence, as if registering the merits to Jaemin’s words and his own fatigue, and promptly laid himself flat on the floor. Jaemin humored himself and followed Renjun’s position on the floor, closer to the windows which allowed him a view of the endless vast of inky void.

“What’s Earth like?” Renjun’s rather exhausted voice questioned, drawing Jaemin to look over at him.

Jaemin frowned, not knowing really how to capture Earth without being biased, which was an odd dilemma to even begin tackling.

“I don’t know really. I guess I haven’t seen all of it to really tell you what all of Earth is like. It’s like if I asked you how space is like,” Jaemin mused.

Renjun turned his head, his almond brown hair shifting with the subtle movement, and pinned Jaemin with a scrutinizing look.

“If you wanna be like that then fine. Tell me about your _life_ then.”

 _That_ Jaemin knew how to answer.

“Ah...my life. Well, before I literally fell into yours,” Jaemin winked.

Renjun turned his head away from the boy, although not quick enough to hide the beginnings of a flushed face from Jaemin’s teasing eyes.

“—I was working for this large technology corporation. Mopped some floors. Stayed away from the sketchy stuff...until when I didn't. I guess that’s the main reason why I’m even here," Jaemin hesitated. He had thought back to his last day in the 21st century. But maybe because of the trauma of that whole disaster, he never liked to linger too long on recalling the last moments of agony just before he woke up on the  _Origin._

"—but even before I became your average collateral employee, I was just your average gifted-slash-unmotivated child. I attended high school with my childhood friend, Donghyuck, who was still my roommate when I was sent here. I hope he’s covering my part in the rent,” Jaemin coudn’t help but joke, if only to push away the rising feeling of loss. If there was someone or something back on Earth that he immediately missed, although he’d never say it outloud to the person himself, he truly missed his shenanigans cohort.

“He must be the most patient being in your galaxy to put up with you,” Renjun quipped quickly.

Jaemin couldn’t stop the snort that erupted from him, garnering Renjun’s incredulous laugh.

“You insult me. You would _hit_ yourself for saying that if you met him.”

Renjun laughed once more, his entire body shaking with laughter on the floor. Jaemin didn’t know what was so funny that it made the boy laugh with his entire being. Maybe it was the exhaustion, but at least it had made Renjun laugh unrestrainedly. Jaemin liked the peculiar but warming sound that filled the room. That night, Jaemin promised to himself that he would try his best to make Renjun happy and laugh so boisterously again and again.

* * *

Jaemin had always been a boy who treasured the small details in his life. Jaemin treasured waking up to the sound of Renjun’s morning grumbles, emphasized by the strenuous activities he routinely stuck to with his morning exercises. He also treasured going to bed, loudly calling out the sweetest (greasiest, according to Renjun) ' _Goodnight Renjun!'_ before the lights shut off, leaving the sight of the Milky Way bands reaching out towards them as the only source of light. Jaemin had practically memorized the outline of Renjun’s sleeping silhouette by the  _fifth_  day of sharing his room and if asked, could sketch it out on one of Renjun's SketchPads with his eyes closed. Jaemin also treasured following Renjun like a little duckling, despite being actually bigger than Renjun himself, to the canteen where he served himself very foreign foods that somehow upset and delighted his stomach at the same time, before sitting besides the quiet boy (garnering a few odd stares from the people coming in and out with agendas of their own). He most definitely enjoyed making the slightly uptight boy unwind with a few smarmy quips and earthly anecdotes. It was interesting to see the boy so enraptured with his words, and also relieving to know that Renjun somehow still possessed such child-like curiosity (even if the boy outright denied such a description). In conclusion, Jaemin treasured all of Huang Renjun.

 

**Days Since Accident: 152, 269**

* * *

He didn’t think he could wake up any more disoriented than when he woke up aboard the _Origin._ But Jaemin thought otherwise the moment he woke up in his _old bed_ —not the one that Hendery had ordered for Jaemin to be placed adjacent Renjun’s, but the one that he had gotten up from every morning before getting ready for another day at Neo Tech.

_Was it all a dream?_

Jaemin’s head spun. His heart clenched. And sometime in between, Donghyuck who was very much the same way he had left him (albeit more frazzled looking ), had entered into his frame of vision with his arms placed on his waist, making a rather striking portrait of a nagging mother who had just found out that their kid was skipping school.

“Nana you are one hell of a best friend,” Donghyuck’s naturally chirpy voice muttered in astonishment.

“Am I?” Jaemin groggily questioned, rubbing the crust out of his eyes, only to feel the wetness of his cheeks. He had been crying. Crying heavily at that. But he was too disoriented to remember  _why_.

“Yes you damn well are,” Donghyuck answered before harshly turning on the spot and turning Jaemin’s old television on.

There, displayed on the dim LCD screen, was the undeniable and terrifying sight of his old workplace burning down in bright _blue_ flames— _the same shade as Renjun’s eyes._

“Renjun! Where’s Renjun!” Jaemin frantically whipped out of his bed, almost smacking straight into his startled friend who immediately shoved him back down to sit on his bed. Jaemin struggled against his slightly older friend’s hold—he _needed_ to get back to Renjun and save him.

“NA JAEMIN WOULD YOU STOP BEFORE I HIT YOU!” Donghyuck yelled out tiredly. Jaemin winced, he hated when Donghyuck pulled out his full name.

“ _Oh_ you actually listened? Good. Because I want you to explain how you escaped _that_ when no one else did.”

Jaemin choked out a sob.

 _Police Reports Indicate All Neo Technology Workers To Be Dead From Unidentified Implosion_ —the headlines beneath the live footage of the burning compound barely registered in Jaemin's frantic mind.

_I need to get to him._

“Jaemin I can’t help unless you tell me what happened,” Donghyuck kneeled down in front of Jaemin in comfort. He knew what a Na Jaemin looked like when he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

And unlike all those times on the _Origin_ , he didn’t feel the presence of his Dancing Star.

_Renjun, I’m so sorry._

 

**Days Since Accident: 0**

* * *

It was inevitable that someone from Neo Technology, someone other than the scientists who had been inside the main headquarters to conduct an unprecedented experiment that would eventually end in one of the biggest urban disasters in the 21st century, would catch wind of the very much alive and intact Na Jaemin who most definitely should’ve been _nonexistent_ post catastrophe.

It didn’t take long really. Although it took longer than it would’ve if Jaemin had not been stuck in their apartment with a heaviness in his heart that anchored him to his cold and _too spacious_ bed.

When Donghyuck noticed the suspicious man eyeing the windows to their apartment for a few days in a row, he had not hesitated to call up his cousin, Lee Taeyong, to smuggle Jaemin out of the city to lay low somewhere. And smuggle they did.

Taeyong had made sure to place his cousin’s best friend somewhere remote and unreachable from the technology of Neo Tech, with the promise of armed security 24/7. Only then had Donghyuck agreed to leave Jaemin in his care as he went back to the city to investigate more on what had gone down in Neo Tech.

Jaemin appreciated the lengths that Donghyuck went to in order to ensure his safety. He really did. He just wasn’t in the right headspace to voice aloud his gratitude. Not when he was still reeling from the churning guilt that racked his entire body and mind.

_I didn’t run fast enough. I didn’t run fast enough._

_‘Jaemin!’_

Jaemin bolted up in the bed, leaving a large sweat print behind. He felt entirely too hot as if hellfire was consuming his very being—but there was no fire. Not really.

 

**Days Since Accident: 57**

* * *

“Part of what Donghyuck had asked for was to return you back to your old self. But we both know that that’s impossible right?” One of Taeyong’s partners (it registered in the back of Jaemin’s mind how Donghyuck’s cousin was not the office worker which he had originally introduced himself as), Dr. Kim Doyoung had politely noted during their thirteenth  _failed_ attempt in therapy sessions for Jaemin, who had merely sat up in the bed with a blank stare.

Doyoung sighed before unprofessionally slumping back in the armchair besides Jaemin’s bed. He took off his wired glasses and rubbed at his nose in mild irritation.

Jaemin twitched. The image of the older man was familiar. It reminded him of Hendery—a sudden shrill sound pierced Jaemin’s wavering attention.

His eyes bulged as there, forming at the arm of the armchair, was a sparkling, rippling area that pierced the monotony of the spartan room.

And then it ripped open. Just like that, Jaemin saw the love of his life’s face once more, although it resembled more of when he had first met him. Dark haired, scowling, but so ethereal and sweet to his soul.

Jaemin ached then, far more visceral than when he had ached from the physical abuse his body had undergone throughout the past years. There was a vulnerable feeling of rawness and a raging longing clawing at him. He almost threw himself at the image of his love, but something had kept him immobilized. He recognized it as a multitude of things: guilt, disbelief, confusion, and caution. He felt as if any motion from him would cause the apparition to vanish too quickly.

So he sat there and watched with tender eyes as a younger Renjun hummed to himself while sketching.

 Dr. Kim Doyoung noted the shift in attitude in the despondent boy.

 

**Days Since Accident: 217**

* * *

The second time it happens, Jaemin is alone and Renjun is staring straight at him. By the look of both recognition and confusion in his eyes, Jaemin knows that this Renjun had met Jaemin already.

“How are you sleeping in your bed but also standing here?” Renjun whispered to Jaemin who could stared owlishly at him.

Renjun’s head snapped to the side and Jaemin could hear his own voice, deeper from the grogginess, saying the familiar words, " _Renjun? Stop practicing and go to sleep."_

“You’re going to do well in the showcase,” Jaemin couldn’t stop himself. He _had_ to.

Renjun snapped to peer at him in a curious manner.

“How do you know?”

“Trust me. _Dancing Star._ ”

At this, Renjun blushes.

* * *

“I can’t tell if it’s the trauma. But you look older Nana.”

“It’s probably the stress from being your best friend.”

_Or because I lived out nearly three years of my life in the future._

“Oh? Guess we're joking now...I'm glad. You look much healthier.”

* * *

It was a peculiar sort of jealousy that Jaemin felt at seeing Renjun’s flushed face and knowing that he hadn’t been the cause of it, or rather his present self hadn’t been its cause. Jaemin recognized from Renjun’s lighter hair color and large perwinkle overcoat outfit, that Renjun had just come back from their first kiss (makeout to be more precise). It was peculiar in the sense that he was jealous of his own self. But who could blame him really, Jaemin couldn’t even gather the boy into his arms and bury his nose at the crook of his neck. He could only stare at Renjun who stared back at him, always with that curious gaze, picturing just what it would be like to hold him in his arms once again. Jaemin was beginning to forget how Renjun smelled like whenever he was in his embrace.

 

**Days Since Accident: 505**

* * *

_‘Why are you so scared of Lucas? Of all people?’_

_‘Wow, I’m sorry I’m scared of telling your assassin brother that I was dating their Little Huang.’_

_‘Oh please he’s harmless. It’s Hendery who you should be afraid of.’_

_‘Trust me. I’m afraid of both of them.’_

_‘Not enough to stop yourself from kissing me in every empty hallway?’_

_‘Not enough. And look at that, coincidentally we're in an empty hallway.’_

_Both boys giggled before pressing close to one another, sharing in each other's warmth._

* * *

There was an overwhelming feeling of _urgency_ , of wanting to reach through the _Tears_ (as Jaemin has started calling the little holes in the fabric of time and space) in order to push his past self into falling quicker, hugging tighter, kissing harder, to loving wholly. But somehow the _Tears_ always found Renjun when he was alone, with the past Jaemin off doing maintenance on the ship, as if it was giving the current Jaemin a reprieve from having to voyeuristically watch Renjun and his past self together. 

But it wasn’t the same as it was when Jaemin had been with Renjun back on _Origin_. Because whenever Renjun stared at him through the Tear it felt as if Renjun was withdrawing into himself. It made sense really. It further proved just how many risks they had both poured into their love, both so invested and ignorant of the fact that they were only pretending to pour cement, instead of quicksand.

* * *

_'What happened?'_

Jaemin tried telling Renjun. He tried to warn him in various ways. But in all his attempts, the Tear had only closed itself up.

Doyoung could only watch in pity as a volatile Na Jaemin wrecked his room for a reason still unknown to him.

* * *

 

The day crept up on him. 

Jaemin held his breath at seeing the Tear that opened sometime in his sleep.

There, adjacent to the sketches he'd been working on, was the image of Renjun looking as he did on the very last day he had truly seen him.

Jaemin crumpled to the ground, feeling his own soul draining from his body. Renjun turned frantically at the sound of him, his disheveled face registering his slumped form. The two stared at each other, but not long enough to share anything but recognition. It was a recognition of the fact that today must have been the day that Na Jaemin was sent back to his own time. Renjun gave him an empathetic nod before running off to where his brother was trying to delete the war files.

 _Helpless_ , Jaemin felt so helpless. 

* * *

“We always knew that you would return back to where you came from at some point. I knew _all this time_ that we didn't have that long and yet I still fell for you despite of that,” Renjun sobbed quietly to Jaemin who knelt down on the floor along with Renjun. If he leaned further, he could press his forehead against Renjun’s own. But he couldn’t.

So instead, Jaemin helplessly watched as his lover sobbed by himself, with only his own bloodstained knees to hug.

_Why did I work that day?_

“Renjun, please I need you to get up. I’m running to you now but I won’t be able to get there in time,” Jaemin choked back a guttural sob before wiping the relentless tears running down his face.

“There’s a pod reserved in Lower Level Aphion for you. Please get up and find it,” Jaemin pleaded. Renjun sniffled, Hendery’s blood pooling around him.

A large bang echoed through both of their rooms but in Renjun’s devastation, he barely flinches.

Jaemin wanted to claw his heart out. He wanted to stick his hand through the Tear and pull Renjun out of that horror and into his lap. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t.

“I love you.”

“Renjun, _please_.”

Jaemin mirrored Renjun’s lifted hand. He could almost feel his warmth through the Tear. _Almost_. Renjun’s body slammed backwards from the force of a nearby explosion. The almost warmth was  _gone_.

* * *

“Welcome to Vision Corporations Huang Jaemin. I’m looking forward to your brilliant innovations and I hope that together we can lay the foundations for the Space Pioneer Program!”

 

**Days Since Accident: 4,745**

**Author's Note:**

> Quite inspired by NCT's song Sun & Moon and its lyrics:  
> Will I be able to see you again?  
> At the end of this long journey?  
> Want to be together  
> In the same time  
> In different places  
> This distorted fate
> 
> When my moon rises  
> Your sun rises as well  
> Under the same sky  
> In this different time  
> Our hearts are connected  
> Under the same sky


End file.
